Goal: Praise statewide mandate to end all in-person classes after Liberty University endangered students by keeping campus open during pandemic.

The governor of Virginia has ordered all educational institutions to suspend in-person classes in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus. This decision was motivated by Liberty University’s reckless decision to re-open its campus in the midst of the pandemic, despite a nationwide call for social distancing.

Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., an evangelical Christian and vocal supporter of President Trump, claimed that the dangers posed by the coronavirus were being exaggerated by the media. Students and faculty were forced to choose between potentially exposing themselves to the coronavirus and risking expulsion or termination.

Falwell’s ignorant and dangerous decision was rightly criticized by the community and by advocates across the country, including those who signed this ForceChange petition. Fortunately, Governor Northam heeded these protests and did the right thing by effectively forbidding Liberty University to continue this irresponsible practice. Sign below to thank Northam for protecting the lives of the students, staff, parents, and community affected by Liberty University’s unsafe actions.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Governor Northam,

Jerry Falwell, Jr. has willfully endangered the lives of hundreds of students, teachers, and staff by refusing to close Liberty University’s campus during the coronavirus pandemic. While Falwell seems to believe that the virus is a hoax, the students who caught this very real disease as a result of his actions were not given the privilege of such delusion.

It’s clear that only a legal mandate will convince Liberty University to protect the lives of its students and faculty, and your decision to end in-person classes statewide will force them to do so. Stopping the spread of the coronavirus and “flattening the curve” is more important than ensuring profits.

No one should have to choose between their safety and their job or education. I commend you for doing the right thing for Liberty University, for Virginia, and for the country by helping to minimize the spread of this deadly virus.